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"Dubai Holding, the global investment holding company, said on Thursday its financial services arm, Dubai Group, has reached final agreement with all financial lenders regarding the restructuring of approximately $6 billion (Dh22.06 billion) of bank facilities. “Another $4 billion of related party debt has been subordinated to the claims of the bank creditors,” Dubai Group said in a statement late on Thursday.

It added that as per the agreement, lenders agreed to extend maturity dates to December 31, 2016 for secured facilities and to December 31, 2024 for partially secured and unsecured facilities.

“We have successfully completed the financial restructuring of Dubai Group. This was a complex set of negotiations given the number of lenders involved. Now that all the restructuring required in Dubai Holding Investment Group (DHIG) is completed, we can focus without distraction on growing the Group’s commercial operations and enhance further its role in supporting Dubai’s growing economy,” Ahmad Bin Byat, Chief Executive Officer, Dubai Holding, said in a statement."

"Dubai Group LLC, an investment company owned by the emirate’s ruler, signed a $6 billion debt agreement with about 30 banks, ending more than three years of negotiations, two bankers with knowledge of the matter said.

Term documents were sent to lenders earlier this month and signed this week, according to the bankers, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. A spokeswoman for Dubai Group wasn’t immediately able to comment.

The deal is a further milestone in Dubai’s recovery from the 2009 debt crisis which roiled global markets. Several state-owned companies in the Persian Gulf tourism and business hub, including palm island developer Nakheel PJSC, were forced to delay repayments after credit markets froze. Dubai Group, which owns stakes in Oman’s biggest lender Bank Muscat SAOG and local investment bank Shuaa Capital PSC (SHUAA), agreed main terms with a group representing lenders last year."

"Dubai’s benchmark stock index rose the most since September on speculation the emirate reached an agreement with neighboring Abu Dhabi on $20 billion of debt.

The DFM General Index (DFMGI) jumped 3.6 percent, the most since Sept. 15, to 3,819.02 at the close in Dubai. The measure, which more than doubled last year, was the best performer among 90 benchmarks tracked by Bloomberg. Arabtec Holding Co. (ARTC), which helped build the world’s tallest tower, surged 9.8 percent, while Emirates NBD PJSC (EMIRATES), the sheikhdom’s biggest bank, rose to the highest since 2008. Abu Dhabi’s index gained 1.7 percent.

“The rumor is that Abu Dhabi has reached an arrangement with Dubai over the $20 billion payment,” Mohammed Ali Yasin, managing director of NBAD Securities LLC, said by phone today. The speculation is that Abu Dhabi “may not need to be paid back. Instead it may be turned into a supporting vehicle for Dubai,” he said."

DUBAI, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Dubai's bourse made its biggest one-day gain in four months on Thursday as retail investors drove it to a fresh five-year high in bets ahead of earnings, while most of the other markets in the region also gained.

UAE nationals were net buyers on Dubai's market and accounted for more than half of trading value, according to bourse data.

"Institutional money is either already in the market or waiting on the sidelines until there is something clear to bet on - this volatility is basically retail-driven," said Amer Khan, fund manager at Shuaa Asset Management.

Real estate-related shares led trading with some laggards catching up to the market. Builder Arabtec jumped 9.8 percent. The firm has won new construction projects recently that are being priced in, analysts said."

"Having parked his private jet alongside the one that flew in the prime minister of Israel this was the event of the week at the World Economic Forum with bonhomie replacing his predecessor’s wild talk of wiping rival nations off the map.

Hassan Rouhani, Iran’s president, took centre stage at Davos to discuss the country’s place in the world and said his views on social, economic and political issues was one of ‘prudent moderation’…

I had been hearing similar things about mixed views in Moscow as to whether to delay the next disbursement in the USD15bn facility (USD3bn in bail-bonds sold/bought in December). A key test is whether Putin gets the cheque book out before the end of this month, or decides to wait a while longer, and see whether Yanukovych survives to repay the overdraft."

"Speaking from the World Economic Forum, company chairman Mohammad Abdulla al-Gergawi labelled the results 'excellent'.

He told Al Arabiya News Channel: "Dubai Holding results were excellent in 2013. The profits in 2013 will double those of last year and will exceed AED3bn."

Dubai Holding is a global investment holding company with interests in 24 countries. Employing 15,000 people from 121 nationalities, it is managed through two business groups: Dubai Holding Commercial Operations Group (DHCOG) and Dubai Holding Investment Group (DHIG)."

"Something strange is happening in Kazakhstan. Over 12 per cent of consumer loans are non-performing and yet the banks are dishing out more consumer credit than ever.

Lending increased 37 per cent between July 2011 and November last year. It was over four times greater in November 2013 than at the beginning of 2006.

It turns out, in fact, that the explanation to this puzzle is fairly straightforward. A quick glance at the prevailing interest rate structure shows that banks in Kazakhstan are making a killing, in spite of the high default rates. Many of them pay out around 8 per cent in interest on one-year deposits, but lend at between 25-40 per cent per annum to people throwing a party, buying a car or snapping up the latest cool kitchen gadget. The upper limit interest rate on consumer loans is 56 per cent."

"With almost 100 billion barrels of proven crude oil reserves (six per cent of global proven reserves), Abu Dhabi accounts for 94 per cent of the UAE’s oil production, with Dubai, Sharjah and the other emirates the remaining six per cent.

The UAE is unique in the Arab world because it never nationalised foreign oil concessions or expropriated their assets, as did Iraq, Libya, Yemen and even Kuwait. In fact, Abu Dhabi’s flagship operating company Adnoc forged highly successful partnerships with international oil and gas majors that enabled it to import state of the art management and technological expertise in oil drilling, production, pipeline, refining and petrochemicals. As the host of Irena and Masdar City, Abu Dhabi is the global hub of renewable energy, the next frontier in world energy. Abu Dhabi is increasingly also a “gas superpower” with an estimated four per cent of global proven reserves that will last for more than a 100 years at current production levels."

"Abu Dhabi National Energy (Taqa), the state utility owner that invests in overseas energy projects, is confident the 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil it hopes to pump in the Kurdish region of Iraq will find its way to international markets.

The expected launch of Kurdish exports this month via a newly operational pipeline connecting the semi-autonomous region to a Turkish port has ignited anger in Baghdad, which deems the Kurdish contracts illegal.

This week Abdul Kareem Al Luaibi, the Iraqi oil minister, said Baghdad was preparing legal action against Ankara and would blacklist any companies that dealt with oil it called “smuggled”."

"Iran’s oil minister will hold a “face-to-face” meeting at Davos with major oil companies to try to coax them back to the sanctions-hit country, media reported on Wednesday.

“We have designed a gigantic volume of investments and technical activities to recover and produce more oil and gas from our fields...and giant international oil companies can play a role in this regard,” Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh was quoted as saying by state broadcaster IRIB’s website.

Iran’s vital oil exports have been more than halved by a raft of international sanctions aimed at curbing its nuclear drive, which the West claims is being used to develop atomic weapons. Iran insists its programme is entirely peaceful."

"President of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama, has invited the Abu Dhabi National Energy Company, Taqa, to develop additional power and water infrastructure in his country.

In a meeting with senior executives in Abu Dhabi, he lauded the excellent business relations between the UAE and Ghana, and the role of Taqa in supporting economic growth in the West African nation through its power plant in Takoradi.

“The Takoradi power plant is one of our vital resources. It has a key role in our economic vision, and its potential is key to our growth. And yes, we are looking forward to upgrading that potential, significantly,” said President Mahama."

"Top bank executives are struggling to convince the world’s business elite in Davos the financial system is safer, more than five years since it fell into crisis.

In what has become a yearly sparring match between bankers and their critics, HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA) Chairman Douglas Flint and Barclays Plc (BARC) Chief Executive Officer Antony Jenkins, two of Britain’s top bankers, faced criticism yesterday from Paul Singer, the billionaire hedge-fund manager who runs New York-based Elliott Management Corp., and Stanford University professor Anat Admati at a debate at the World Economic Forum.

“It can’t be that safer comes from relatively modest improvements in certain metrics plus private and policy maker half-steps,” said Singer, whose New York-based hedge fund manages $24 billion. “Because of the inability of investors to understand the financial condition of the major financial institutions, they aren’t able to stand on their own in the next financial crisis.”"